Unknown Rivalries
by Tekko
Summary: Al has a surprise for Scorpius, as does Scorpius for Al.


**Author's Notes:** Whooooo~ helloooooooooo peeps! Missed me? 8D To be honest I've been a slacking slacker that slacks - sorry! This story was a Gaia request from _nekohimebyha _So you guys have her to thank for this! It's actually my first attempt with a next-gen story so - comments, pls? ~.^

**Summery:** Al has news for Scorpius, as Scorpius does for Al. Unfortunately the Gryffindor doesn't take the news as well as his boyfriend hoped.

**Rating:** M for language and male/male adult activities :P

**Disclaimer:** I think it's rather obvious that these guys don't belong to me. At all.

* * *

Platform 9 and 3/4 at King's Cross Station was as crowded as ever, with parents dropping off their children, friends reconnecting and bodies bustling about as usual. Al, a few inches taller since he'd last left for the summer (though being the same height as his father, he feared that he had reached his peak) the dark-haired teen was trying to peer over heads to find one in particular. Most of the students of his class that he saw were in deep conversations but a few called to him and he waved in turn, neck craning. "Are you guys going to go soon?"

"What, are you afraid we'll embarrass you?" Al's father dropped a hand to his hair and ruffled it, pulling a startled yelp from the teen, who jerked away. When he turned with both hands trying to smooth his hair back into place his father was grinning, the lines around his eyes wrinkling. "You do know that we miss you when you're gone. Both of you."

"Harry, didn't you promise not to embarrass him?" Al's mum was buttoning up Lilly's coat, who was rolling her eyes but taking the attention in silence. "Try to be good, you two."

"Yeah, you lot," James piped up, swooping in as soon as Al lowered his hands to ruffle the dark strands again. "No setting off dung bombs in the teacher's lounge or antagonizing Peeves!"

"And who did those things while only _just_ managing to pass his NEWTs and OWLs?" Their mother asked in a sweet tone.

James flushed but it did nothing for his grin, chest puffing slightly. He seemed to think that he was a Big Deal since graduating from Hogwarts the year before and starting his internship on ward-building.

"I'm going to go find a seat," Al announced, quickly flattening his hair again. "Bye mum, bye dad."

"Bye Al." His father pulled him into a hug which Al suffered through, thankfully just resting a hand on his shoulder afterwards. "And I'm proud of you. You'll make a great captain."

Al was grinning as he moved away to get a snug hug from his mum, who pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Try to be careful," she warned, brown eyes serious. "I know I say that every year-"

"Yes mum, I know. I won't go flying into walls or anything."

She gave him another hug and Al quickly ducked from his brother's hand reaching for his hair, getting a punch to the shoulder instead. "Keep your nose clean, punk."

"Why does everything think I'm gonna cause trouble because you didn't know any better?" Al huffed, grabbing his trunk. A flash of blond caught his attention as he turned and Al quickly made his escape, unwilling to wait for Lilly to get her parting words least they go back to pestering him again.

Though James and Lilly (and, well, most of the school) knew of his relationship, it wasn't something that Al wanted his parents to find out anytime soon. It wasn't the fact that he found little to no interest in girls - they knew enough gay witches and wizards that Al could picture the exact way they would react to his own sexuality - it was the [i]who[/i] part that made him hesitate.

Pausing to rise up on his toes and look around the flash of blond caught his eye again, the owner ducking into a train car some meters from where he stood. Working his way through the crowd Al dragged his trunk along, huffing and grumbling about under-aged wizard trackers keeping him from shrinking the case to a more manageable size and stepped up into the car, pulling the trunk behind him. Inside the train was slowly filling with students and he walked through the first car, filled with rows of seating rather than compartments, eyes quickly scanning each face. _Not here..._

The second car was like the first, filling quickly with rows of seating. He passed Lilly, already seated next to Rose and across from some girls he didn't know, talking and giggling. She ignored him but Rose looked up with a smile, which he returned briefly before making his way to the next car.

The third car had several compartments, two of which were open and the rest shut. Al started down the row when one of the closed doors was flung open, a hand reaching out to grip the front of his shirt and pulling him around, mashing his lips against a warm pair that were _much_ higher than they had been before the summer.

Groaning, A dropped his trunk with a _thud_ as he wrapped his arms around Scorpius - who was at least a head taller than him now, damnit - returning the kiss with vigor. While they had gotten to see each other a few times at the start of the summer it was never anywhere they could be together like _this_.

Slowly Scorpius drew back from the kiss and Al opened eyes he hadn't realized he'd closed, seeing blond lashes had half-mast over melting grey eyes. "You're short."

Al scowled and shoved at the blond but it was hardly strong enough to make him rock back on his heels. "You're just a freaking _giant_," Al complained, pulling away and taking up his trunk again. "I take it we're here?"

Scorpius, who'd not only grown several inches since the last time Al saw him but also grew his hair out so that it swept slightly past his shoulders, moved aside with a hand holding the compartment door open. Al dragged his trunk in and together they put it up onto the overhanging shelf and out of the way.

"_Colloportus_."

The click of the lock made Al's heart skip a beat, casting a glance to Scorpius. "Any second year could get that open," he said, his voice coming out huskier then he was planning on. The melting silver gaze did little to help with the roar of blood rushing through his veins, nor did the way Scorpius licked his lips.

"Well then, it's a good think I'm not a second year," he said before raising his wand, murmuring under his breath. When Al looked he could see the pale blue, shimmering wards Scorpius put in place, woven in a spiderweb pattern. "There. That should give us at least a 5-minute warning if someone decides they _have_ to get in here. So," Scorpius hummed, an arm looping around Al's neck to curl into his hair. "How do you think we should spend the time 'till we reach Hogwarts?"

Tilting his head into the light massaging Al reached up, grasped the back of the blond's neck and brought him in for another breath-stealing kiss.

~.~.~.~.~

By the time the Hogwarts Express was loaded and on the move Al and Scorpius were bare-chested, trousers unbuttoned and hips grinding together. Al was seated on the blond's lap, his knees to either side of his hips while Scorpius did a job at making every strand of dark hair stand on end, nails scratching and fingers rubbing as he rolled his hips.

"Merlin I missed you," Scorpius panted, hands sliding down to Al's rear to draw him closer with a groan. "You have - no idea."

Sucking firmly at the patch of pale skin near the base of the blond's neck Al drew away to check on his work. He had a canvas of pale skin to re-mark and was eager to get started. "I have _some_ idea," he murmured, reaching between them to squeeze the silk-covered cock before him and grinning as Scorpius gasped. "I've been dreaming of you all week," Al breathed, palm rubbing slowly over Scorpius as the blond's head fell back against the seat. "Of having you tied to the posts of my bed, licking my way down your chest and stomach until you were _begging_ me to stop teasing."

A half-sob, half-whine ripped itself from Scorpius's throat, the normally silver eyes stormy and pleading. "Stop_ teasing_," the blond whined, hips thrusting against Al's palm. "_Please_!"

Al titled his head, considering. "That's not exactly what you said in the dream but I guess it'll do." Rising up on his hips Al tugged his trousers down further, along with his pants. Working Scorpius's cock through the slit in the front of his own pants he settled back down, fumbling for his wand to cast a mild lubrication spell to his palm before setting it aside and rubbing his hands together, getting them both slick. When he held both of their cocks together and gave the first long, slow stroke, the shock of pleasure nearly made him arch backwards off of Scorpius's lap. The hands planted at his waist kept Al steady and he watched, panting, as his cupped hands ran slowly up and down the length of their cocks.

"You're amazing," Scorpius breathed and when Al looked he was watching them, too, darkened eyes seemingly fascinated. Eyes that looked up and locked with Al's, sending a pulse of heat through his veins and making his hips jerk. "I want you to fuck me."

Al's hips jerked again and he had to close his eyes for fear of losing it too soon. "Gods, babe - you can't spring that on a guy," he gasped, hands moving faster. "Here's not - ngh! - the best place for it."

They were both thrusting into the canal made by Al's slick palms, breaths mingling and as harsh as the chugging of the Hogwarts express. He could feel the pressure building in his belly, the tightening of their sacs slapping together, the quickening of his breath..

"I - ahh - had dreams," Scorpius panted as a hand rose to grip the hair at the name of Al's neck, forcing his head up and willing Al's eyes open. "But you were tied to _my_ bed and I - I was on top, slamming down onto your cock until you screamed-"

"C- cumming!"

Al's cock pulsed, his hands squeezing as the pressure reached its peak and released, his hot seed shooting out between them. Several strokes later Scorpius was tensing underneath him, fingers digging into his skin hard enough to bruise as his own cock pulsed with his seed. Al all but fell forward as the blond finished, smearing the sticky mess between them but far too satisfied to care. "Just," Scorpius panted, sounding so out of breath that Al gave himself a mental pat on the back for a job well done. "Just like that."

"Mm, glad that I met up to your standards," Al hummed, pressing a blind kiss to his boyfriend's neck. Eyes closed and cheek resting against Scorpius's shoulder Al only moved to rest his hands on either side of the blond's hips, sighing when he felt the soft tingling of a cleaning charm run over him. "Thanks. You need to teach me that one."

"What, and let you get independent of me?" Pale arms wrapped around Al and only added to the sleepy contentment flowing through his limbs. "I don't think so."

There was the distinct sound of the far car door opening followed by the _click, rrr rrr, click_ of a trolley being pushed into the car. Al's head snapped up, hearing the faint knock followed by the sliding of a door and turned to look at his lover. "Think we can be ready before she comes by?"

"Is that a dare?"

"Of course it is!"

There was a mad scrambling of re-tucking, zipping and buttoning, Al getting his shirt almost fully done up before realizing he'd misaligned the buttons and having to redo them. The window was opened and Scorpius summoned a breeze to try and dispel the 'Just Had Sex' smell lingering in the car and by the time the snack car reached their door the wards had been taken down and both boys were seated across from one another, flushed (in Scorpius's case) and rumpled (in Al's case) but otherwise put-together.

With snacks in tow and the worst of their hunger for each other satisfied. Al and Scorpius chatted about the events of the summer. Scorpius laughed as Al told him about their trip to Australia that ended with James having tiger-striped sunburns across his back ("For some reason he thought it'd be a good idea," Al said, rolling his eyes) and Al winced in sympathy as Scorpius went over a particularly prickly dinner with his grandparents ("I love them but I just don't believe in the old, Pureblood ways," the blond said, expression pained until Al rose to sit beside him and wrap an arm around his waist).

They were nearly to Hogwarts, the flickering lights giving the ten-minute warning to change into school robes, when Al couldn't hold it in anymore. "I got some interesting news over the summer," he said casually, pulling his robes on over his head. "I'm to be team captain for Gryffindor."

Scorpius paused where he'd been smoothing his robes into place, turning to Al with a slight smile. "Really? Well, I guess that makes up rivals."

It was Al's turn to pause. "What do you mean?"

The smile spread a bit wider as Scorpius shrugged. "I was put on for team captain, too." The blond gave his robes a final flick, attending to his hair while using the glass of the window to see his reflection. "So that would make us rivals. Just on the field, of course." The silence that followed the statement made Scorpius look over at his boyfriend, still smoothing down the blond strands trying to flare out near his temple. "Right, Al?"

Albus was standing in the middle of the compartment, breathing slow and shallow. Dropping his hands from his hair Scorpius turned as Al clenched and relaxed his fingers, jaw so tense that it was surprising the sound of grinding didn't reach his ears. "How?"

"What do you mean, how?" Scorpius asked, frowning.

"How did you get to be captain?" Al asked, jaw still tense. "Did you try out? Buy your way in? Or was it due to your _popularity_?"

Scorpius hissed and Al wanted to mock him for his terrible Parseltongue - not that he had inherited the ability from his father but it would drive the blond nuts. "What's wrong with you all of a sudden? And as a matter of fact, I was voted in," Scorpius said, back straightening and head tilting in a way that he [i]knew[/i] Al found utterly unattractive and cocky. "Seems the team pretty much considered me captain as Gerald was useless; they just wanted to wait until he'd graduated before promoting me."

"You were _voted in_?"

Scorpius sneered. "Need to have your ears cleaned out?"

Al's palms curled into fists and he nearly shoved the blond. Instead he reached for his trunk, jerking it down from its shelf and nearly dropping it on the blond's foot. "Whatever," he muttered, turning to slide the compartment door open. "I'm going out to wait."

"Al-"

The brunet slammed the door shut behind him, stomping his way to the far doors of the train car to go through. _Voted in my arse. You want to be rivals?_ Fine. _We'll be rivals._

~.~.~.~.~

It wasn't long after their arrival to Hogwarts that news spread about the two Quidditch captains and lovers being on the outs. Al stomped his way through the halls, sending freezing glares to any who happened to be in the area and scattering petrified first years like flocks of startled geese. Scorpius was only slightly better, sweeping through the halls and as intimidating as any Pureblood wizard with a vendetta. He had tried talking to Al several times since the incident on the train but the brunet had ignored him, hissed at him or stomped away each time and there were only so many rejections the blond could withstand.

"Al?"

He nearly snarled before he realized who it was. Rose Weasley had found the alcove that Al had hidden and was standing with her arms crossed, head cocked to the side. "Willing to talk?"

"If I said no would you go away?" Al grumbled, scowling as she took up residence in the corner of the windowsill across from him. "Please, have a seat."

Rose was unfairly good at ignoring his scathing sarcasm. Instead she fixed him with a look that she must have picked up from her mother for long enough that Al shifted and looked down at his lap. "So why is it that you're fighting with Scorpius?"

Al scowled at his knees, hands curling into the material there. "What, you mean you haven't spoken to him already?"

"I have. I want to hear you side of the story."

Al shifted again, gazing going from his knees to the far wall to the path leading down the corridor. There was a group of 4th year Hufflepuffs chattering in the doorway of a classroom a dozen meters or so off who were paying them no mind. "He's Quidditch captain," Al mumbled after a long moment of silence, frowning at nothing in particular. "He was voted in."

Rose was silent for a time, apparently thinking over the words. "So - you're captain, too. Just because you're in different houses, doesn't mean-"

"He was _voted_ in," Al stressed, clenching his jaw. It was going to be harder to get out what he had to than he thought but he dug his heels in and bullied forward. "The team thought of him as practically captain already. I had to work, and beg, and sweat, and even _then_ I only just got out over Franz." The scowl returned. "He's a better player, gets better grades and a better leader. I've had to scrape by and work my arse off to get recognition beyond being son to the great Harry Potter," he finished, nearly spitting the words.

The red haired girl was quiet for another long moment while Al kicked at the air, wishing there was something breakable nearby. "So you're jealous?"

"Of course I'm jealous!" The Hufflepuffs turned at his shout but the resulting glare sent them hurrying off soon enough. "He's gotten _everything_ that he's wanted and things that he didn't, just for being himself. I get pushed harder than anyone because everything expects me to be brilliant at everything I touch."

When he looked up Rose was slowly shaking her head, eyes sad. "Al, you don't see it because - well, because everyone knows you and how you'd react if you knew, but..." Rose bit her lip, eyes downcast.

Despite his annoyance at her Al's curiosity perked, leg going still. "But?"

The teen seemed to struggle with herself before blurting out the words all at once. "Well Scorpius would kill me if I told you but it's been killing me _not_ to say anything - he's not as popular as you think, Al. Sure, his House likes him well enough but you don't see how he's treated when you're not with him."

Al's spine felt as if it were stiff as a rod and his blood seemed to cool. He didn't know what expression he wore but Rose looked as if she would try to slip away. "Rose. Tell. Me."

"They call him names." Rose's voice had fallen down to a near-whisper but Al leaned forward, catching every word. "Shove him. Trip him. There's some boys from Griffndor and Ravenclaw who go out of their way to give him a hard time when you're not around."

Al's head was reeling. He hadn't seen - or heard - _anything_ of the sort before. Blinking Al shook his head, trying to clear it. "Why didn't he _say_ anything?"

Rose's eyes were still sad as she rose from the windowsill, shouldering her bag. "You have struggles that you face on your own," she said. "Scorpius probably didn't want to add his own onto you." She walked off then, leaving the brunet with thoughts buzzing in his head and the taste of ashes in his mouth.

~.~.~.~.~

"Can we talk?"

Scorpius's expression was guarded, the rest of the Slytherin table turning to glare at Albus. He had approached midway during lunch in the Great Hall, drawing the gaze of pretty much the entire school with his stride from the Gryffindor table. Scorpius sat for so long that Al thought the blond would send him away but eventually he gave a single, graceful nod, rising from his seat. Al turned with Scorpius falling into step beside him, the pair of them walking in almost complete silence through the dining area.

Al pushed the door shut behind them and when he turned Scorpius was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, a single blond brow arched. "What is it, Albus? I was in the middle of lunch."

Al cringed. If he was being called by his full first name he was still in deep. "I wanted to apologize," he started, shoving a hand through his hair with his gaze to the ground. "I overreacted to the whole thing. I've been a right git to you and you didn't even know why." Looking up at the blond from under sooty lashes Al took a deep breath. "I've been jealous of you forever. Insanely jealous. You get everything you want handed to you and teachers fawn over you where I just get yelled at for not being as good as my father for flying or Defense or fucking _breathing_." Al took another breath, hand yanking hard at the dark strands. "I was stupid to let something like you getting handed the job I wanted, just because I wasn't good enough to have the same done with me."

Cool, slender fingers worked Al's digits from his abused hair, the blond lowering the offending hand. "Keep that up and your head will look like a duck's arse," he said quietly. Though he wasn't smiling he wasn't scowling, either. Even the scolding words were soft, holding none of the bite they could have. "Is that what this has been about?"

Swallowing Al nodded. "Yeah. Stupid, huh?"

"Very stupid."

Al grimaced. "I _know_ that. It only took a week of my being an idiot to realize what an idiot I've been." He looked up at Scorpius, trying for as pathetic an expression that he could manage. "Forgive me?"

Scorpius hummed under his breath, reaching up to cup Al's chin. "I don't know," he drawled, tilting Al's head one way then the other. "You really hurt my feelings. I cried."

Al closed his eyes, groaning. "I'm a horrid, evil person who should be bound, gagged and thrown into the Lake to be torn apart by Merpeople," he swore, opening his eyes. "What can I do to make it up to you?"

Scorpius seemed to consider the question, leaning down a moment later to press his lips to Al's. The shorter teen's breath hitched in surprise before his eyes were closing for a second time, arms rising to warp around the blond's neck. Scorpius mouth seemed questioning, lightly brushing over his lips and mouthing the lower one before probing with the tip of his tongue. Al's own lips parted and the pair stood, pressed to one another, relearning the feel and taste of one another with careful licks and slow swipes of their tongues. By the time the kiss was broken Al's eyes were glazed, lips flushed and tingling. Scorpius, damn him, had just a bit of color staining his high cheekbones.

"My forgiveness comes with conditions."

Al groaned. "Always a Slytherin."

The blond's lips twitched but he didn't smile, fingers still lightly gripping Al's chin. "You'll forget the whole being jealous nonsense," he stated, raising his other hand to tick off each point. "You'll work hard at getting your team into shape so that it's fair when we go up against one another. And you'll stay in my room for the following week." Scorpius leaned forward, bringing his lips to Al's ear. "And let me do whatever. I. Want. To. You."

Swallowing hard Al nodded when Scorpius drew back to look at him, the grip to his chin not restricting the motion. "Yeah, I can - whatever you want."

The blond studied Al for a long moment before nodding. "Good." Then he smiled, a slow curving of his lips that only Al got to see and never failed in making him fall in love with the blond all over again. "Bring your school ties. At least four of them."

Al stood in the hall for a while after Scorpius slipped back into the Great Hall, knowing that if he ran off to his room to wank now people would think that the blond turned him into a toad. It was near thing, though.


End file.
